As you may have noticed, the paper was slightly different this week with the annual TriniBonian taking over the first 10 pages. We hope there’s a little something for everyone with sarcastic commentary on campus issues like the strategic plan, bollards, fire alarms and President Ahlburg’s obsession with tattoos, to our own unique creations like a “Hunger Games”-esque process used to assign on-campus housing and fun house mirrors in the weight room.  We even got former ASR president Joe Moore to pose for a picture topless, with the American flag draped over his body (if that’s not success we don’t know what is).

But really, the bigger message here is that it’s important to laugh at yourself and not take campus life, or life in general, too seriously. Ben Conway discusses this idea in his column this week (Page 5), but it applies to both our experience at the paper and our experience as members of this community. We’ve had to make some tough decisions this year and, at times, have dealt with delicate topics. The choices we make don’t always play out in our favor and sometimes you end up looking like an idiot in front of your peers. And sometimes you spell a simple word wrong on the front page in 36 pt. font (see Page 8 for some of our best typos of the year).

But while it’s easy to get bogged down with critiques or self-criticsm, it doesn’t benefit anyone if you’re not able to move on or grow. This is where laughter comes in. Aside from the scientific/psychological benefits, we think being able to make fun of yourself makes you seem more human, and even more approachable. It also keeps you sane, and that’s a top priority for those of us who spend hours down in the basement of CCI.

So, whether it’s through reading the TriniBonian, exploring the .gifs on BuzzFeed (If you haven’t seen “The Difference Between Freshman Year and Senior Year in College” yet, go online now) or watching your favorite TV show, we hope you take the time to have a good chuckle today.